


Spies A-Falling

by the_wolf_or_the_memrys



Series: Connection and Education [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Budapest, M/M, Prelude to another fic, Surprises, mcu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-28
Updated: 2013-06-04
Packaged: 2017-12-06 18:54:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_wolf_or_the_memrys/pseuds/the_wolf_or_the_memrys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Budapest is a clusterfuck. That's putting it lightly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hailstorm

To say that this mission had gone FUBAR was an understatement. Admittedly, it was what Phil Coulson was good at, excelled at. But when it came to watching his assets be taken out one by one, almost too fast for him to catch?

He was breaking, just a little.

 

Barton was down. Romanov was caught, stuck in wreckage of the building that had blown unexpectedly. Even their third asset, Phil's own specialist, was unavailable to get to the archer. Three of them, all trapped in a blaze of brutality, gunfire and blood.

"Report, Liz." He barked, barely keeping the fear out of his voice. He desperately needed to get to Clint, and he knew Elizabeth was his best bet without him wading into this mess.

"Working on getting to Barton, sir. Romanov is almost out. We could use some back up, Phil." Liz's voice rang in his ear, and he hummed. 

"I'm already working my way in."

"Guns hot would be nice." Liz breathed, and he could see the flash of her armoured figure pushing past a wall of debris. Reassuring, knowing she was still safe. They weren't anything, not anymore, but she knew Phil still cared. He always cared. The other spy waved, subtle and a warning. _Danger ahead, proceed with extreme caution._

"Phasers set to kill, sir?" Barton's voice, weak and wheezy. Phil breathed a sigh of relief, eyes tracking Liz's movements until he catches a flash of maroon, knows Clint's safe.

"You know it. Stay with Erskine, Clint. We have back up about ten minutes out." Coulson muttered, spreading out with his rifle to take out six of their opposing targets. A huff is his answer, and then Liz is swearing.

"Clint! Stay down, damnit, we have to get to Tasha. She's.."

"I'm fine. Breathe, Lizzie. Widow safe, sir." Natasha's voice is sharp with pain, and finally Phil can see her. Red and black, both her hair and blood coloring against her pale skin.

"Injuries?" The handler murmured, eyes switching back to Liz and Clint. The woman was helping get Barton back on his feet, and from the muttering he can hear, Clint's in bad shape. 

"Minor." Natasha confirmed, and Liz repeated the word.

"Barton's bad, Phil. Where the hell's that back up team?" Liz snapped, and Phil growled.

"Watch the tone, Agent Erskine. They'll be here in-" Phil glanced at his watch. "-Six minutes." Liz hissed, Phil had to bite back another warning.

"We don't have six minutes, sir. Clint's femeral artery was hit. He's bleeding heavily."

"Liz, shut it! I'm fine." Clint snarled, and a slap resounded over the comms. 

"Barton, stand down! Romanov, get in there!" Coulson ordered, and there was movement among the gunfire, the familiar sound of Natasha's guns joining the cacaphony. Liz swore under her breath, picking her way carefully to Phil's position. 

"You take care of Agent Dumbass while I go save Romanov again." She smiled, brushing a kiss over both of their foreheads before diving off their ledge and back into the fray. The handler rolled his eyes, giving the archer next to him a once over and hiding the twist in his stomach at the startling amount of blood. 

"We need to get out of here." Clint muttered, snagging Phil's extra rifle and starting to return fire. Phil nodded, hissing.

"Wu is leading the back up. They'll be here soon." Coulson sighed, focusing on protecting Natasha and Elizabeth.

"Better hope it's soon enough." Barton growled, before the sound of a quinjet picked up nearby.

"Thank god." Liz muttered, leading the way into the landing area. Knives are flying, her hands quick and sure. Natasha's right behind her, moving confidently despite the slight limp in her step.

"Barton's down!" Coulson yelled, rolling the two of them off the ledge just as another shot rings out, and blood sprayed from both men's shoulders.

"Clint!"

"Phil!"


	2. God, I Hate Hospitals.

It's common knowledge that Clint Barton hates hospitals. SHIELD's medical center isn't an exception. But he knows, when he hears Liz snapping at him to just "Stay _down_ , damnit!", he's in bad shape. Liz hates medical almost as much as he does, and he's never heard her so shaky. This is the woman dating Phil Coulson, after all. She's as cool as he is, and as excellent in a crisis as Natasha.

"Liz? What the hell?" The archer hissed as the pain started to set in, gritting his teeth. The assassin next to him glared, a blade in her palm.

"Barton, I swear to god. You will be the death of me." Liz shook her head, curls flying. The brunette looks exhausted, battered, much worse than normal. Not that even Clint's smartassery would classify Budapest as normal. Her face is tight, though, and the fact that she's still carrying a knife in open air is a sign to anyone who knows her well. It's saying Phil's hurt. Badly.

"Coulson's hurt, too, isn't he?" Clint murmured, and at the terse nod he gets in response, he knows it's his fault. He and Liz are close, and he's half in love with her, just like he is with Natasha.

"Yes. Several gunshot wounds, mostly nonlethal. There were two that were. He's still in surgery." Liz is sharp, almost vibrating with the tension. She's always been like this, for as long as Clint's known her. As soon as anyone she cares about is hurt, she's panicking. 

"Jesus... Is it my fault?" Clint asked softly, eyes flitting over her. She's hurt too, he can see the barely there bandages, mostly covered by the SHIELD uniform she's changed into. That in and of itself tells him how badly she was hurt. Liz is just like him, tending to remain in her mission armour until after the official debrief.

"Clint... No, it's not your fault. He saved your lives. He got you out of the way, but the way he rolled you two off the ledge, you caught a bullet through the shoulder, and he got two through the chest." Liz explained softly, and he knows she's telling the truth. She's not one to lie.

"I'm sorry... I know you love him." He offered, and she smiles. 

"I do. He'll be okay." Liz murmured, and sighed. Her arm is stiff, possibly dislocated.

"Phil's strong. He'll make it back. For you." Clint smiled, wincing as the burst of pain coats his tongue, his chest siezing for a  moment as his breath catches. 

Liz was crying.

He's never seen her cry, even when he brought her in after she tried to kill him.

"He's not coming back for me." Liz said softly, wiping away the errant tears. She looked absolutely heartbroken, and it doesn't make sense to him.

"Of course he is." Clint stammered, staring in shock.

"No, he's not. And that's okay. It's... Wow." She smiled, damp cheeks and glittering eyelashes. Clint reached and put a hand on her arm, despite the pain that burned through his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Liz... Still don't know what you mean."

"You will, Clint. You will."


	3. Waiting

Two months.

 

Clint was off missions for two fucking months. What the hell is he supposed to do for that long? Ponder Liz's insane words about Phil?

 _"He's not coming back for me."_ She'd said, and he still wondered about it. Liz and Phil had been an on and off again thing since he'd managed to convince her not to kill him. The pair had some of the most agile and energetic sex Clint has ever had the fortune of accidentally walking in on. Honestly, they'd been more in love than she and Clint had been.

"Fuck, woman." Clint muttered, burying his face in his pillows. He knew how much Liz loved him and Phil, and how hard she'd struggled to keep from hurting either of them. Then Natasha had entered the picture, and that angry dynamic had distracted Liz.

What he didn't know was the reason that Liz and Phil had broken it off this time.

 

Because Phil had fallen for Clint.

 

 To be honest, it had happened long before Phil met Liz. Clint had always been Phil's weak point, ever since the mission in Czech that went so horribly wrong. Worse than Budapest, because Clint had ended up in enemy hands, tortured for three days before Phil had burst through the door and killed anyone in his way. Clint himself knew that was when he'd finally trusted Phil. For Phil, it was Clint's smile, teeth bloody and one eye swollen shut, and the raspy whisper that accompanied.

"You're late, Coulson."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, guys!! The past couple of months have been beyond crazy, and I've had next to no time to write.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a prelude to another fic that I'm working on. Patience, my darlings!


End file.
